


Eccentric Beauty

by awkwardlesbian317



Category: Original Work
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, Family Member Death, Fluff and Angst, Foster Care, Law Enforcement, Lesbian Character, Punk Rock, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-11 05:32:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15308556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardlesbian317/pseuds/awkwardlesbian317
Summary: Elizabeth (Eliza) Greene's parents died when she was 15, an old family friend becomes her foster mom but then ships her off to boarding school where she has to decide if she will try to make it work or take off and ruin her last chance.Eliza is a closeted lesbian, so she panics at the thought of being stuck in a boarding school full of girls. One, in particular, catches her attention. The assistant teacher, a 22 year old named Alice. Alice is quiet but confident, with an eccentric style and beauty that would catch anyone's attention.Eliza does her best to keep her feelings at bay as she decides what to do next.Side Note: I didn't actually go to a boarding school so this is probably NOT accurate representation at all. I pretty much put everything I ever wanted in a school in this story.I'm going to try to finish this story rather quickly, but there's no promises. Kudos if you like it! It will keep me motivated to keep writing!I apologize in advance for any mistakes :/





	1. The Next Disappointment

1\. The Next Disappointment

I followed my escort into the school building, wondering if I should just tell her that this whole thing wasn’t going to work out. Deep down, I think she knew that, but Lena still held on to hope that I would one day act like a normal teenager. Trouble is, I’m not a normal teenager. My parents had been killed when I was 15, and ever since then, nothing had been the same. I couldn’t just go on acting like I used to. My life had changed. I had changed.

I could never figure out why Lena didn’t understand that. I never expected anyone to ever completely understand what I was going through. How could they? But Lena loved them too, if anyone could even come close to knowing what I felt, it should’ve been her.

My parents had been her best friends for my entire life, ever since they hired the younger girl as my babysitter when I was four. Even when I was old enough that I didn’t need a babysitter, Lena stuck around because she loved us, and we loved her. She didn’t have much family of her own, so she spent most of the holidays at our house. I still remember those days like they were yesterday. They were the best times of my life. But after the death of my parents, I fell off the wagon, and even Lena couldn’t stop me. I went through all the normal stages of grief, in my own way.

At first, I couldn’t believe they were gone. That stuff only happened in the movies, it wasn’t supposed to happen in real life. It took weeks of everyone constantly beating it into me until I finally accepted the fact that they were dead. When that happened, everyone wished I would go back to forgetting. The weight of their deaths proved way too much for me to handle. Life became a series of pointless distractions after that, most of them illegal and dangerous. By this point, I had already gotten on Lena’s bad side. She did her best to keep me out of trouble, using her power as a police officer to prevent me from going to juvey, but I could tell that the hope she had been hanging on to so desperately was spread thin. She was almost ready to give up on me, which didn’t faze me. It was inevitable. Everyone else already had.

The school building in front of me was Lena’s last try at bringing me back to normalcy. I’d been kicked out of three schools in the last two years, but this one was “special”. I didn’t know what that meant when she first said it, but now I stared at the suitcase she was carrying, guessing that she was finally dumping me at a boarding school. I let out a sigh as we walked through the large metal doors, preparing myself for the one last time that I would have to disappoint Lena.

I raised my eyebrows as we passed an indoor Koi pond just inside the door, wondering if anyone thought to themselves that it was a little bit overkill.  
“Good morning, Ms. Jordan!” I looked over to see the woman who thought it was necessary to speak so enthusiastically and I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. The nametag on her shirt read, “Mrs. Bell”. She was the stereotypical secretary lady, complete with a pencil behind her ear and a huge, welcoming smile that made me want to puke. Her professional looking skirt and button up t-shirt made her look way over qualified for a simple high school secretary job but judging by her bubbly attitude and way-too-happy expression, I guessed she wasn’t as smart as she liked to put off. I’d come to learn that street smarts were the only kind of intelligence that really mattered anyway. It had helped me and even saved my life on several occasions.

I paid no attention to the short conversation that went on between Lena and Mrs. Bell, and I barely even noticed when they started to walk away. Lena turned back and raised an eyebrow, clearly thinking that I was trying to start something, even though I had been genuinely clueless as to what was going on around me. Still, I hesitated before I followed her. She not-so-discreetly grabbed onto my upper arm to keep me from straying again. I rolled my eyes but decided against saying anything or pulling my arm from her grasp. Instead, I pretended I didn’t notice the move and glanced around my surroundings for a moment, even though I didn’t figure I would be staying for very long. 

It was definitely not what I was expecting. It didn’t quite look like a normal school, even if you looked past the pond at the front entrance. The colors of the building weren’t bright and in your face like most other schools, potted plants seemed to occupy any empty shelf or windowsill, and there were no lockers in the hallway. I frowned, turning around slightly to look at the hallway behind me as we walked. But there weren’t any lockers in sight. I supposed when you actually live at your school, the need for your own locker was nonexistent. 

I was a bit surprised that Lena hadn’t found a school with bars on the windows or guards posted by every classroom. I wondered if she knew I was already planning my escape. 

We stopped in front of a classroom at the end of the hallway. Lena and I waited as Mrs. Bell knocked on the door. I looked away, not looking forward to meeting the teacher behind the door. I glanced into a nearby classroom that had the door open. The first thing that caught my attention was that they were all staring at me. Big surprise there. But then I noticed something else and remembered an important detail about boarding schools.

Every single student was a girl. My eyes widened in horror.

Oh no.

“You brought me to an all-girls school?!” I whisper shouted at Lena, who turned to me, completely unphased about this new information I had found. She had been waiting for resistance at some point, she was ready for anything I would throw at her. I knew this, but I couldn’t just let her leave me there. “Why would you do that?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “You got yourself kicked out of all the other schools in the area. And, I believe that this school can give you the individual attention that you need.”

“I don’t need individual attention, Lena. What part of, “I just want to be left alone,” do you not understand?” I’m not sure exactly which part of what I said set her off, but the next thing I knew she had used her grip on my arm to yank me away and shove me into a locker. Her sudden outburst surprised me, she always worked so hard to stay in control of herself and let out a ‘calm and sure’ vibe. “What the hell, Lena?”

She stared into my eyes in a way that had me cowering back and started to speak so rapidly I had to concentrate in order to catch it all.

“Listen to me, Elizabeth. This is your last chance. Your last chance. Do you get that? I’ve done everything I can possibly think of to help you, but you’ve thrown it all back in my face each and every time and I’ve had enough. I loved you and your parents more than anything but I’m not going to do this anymore. You screw this up and you’re on your own.” I tried to look away from the intensity in her eyes, but she took that as me ignoring her, and she shook my arm so that I would meet her eyes again. “I mean it, Liz. This is it.”

I frowned at her, trying to hide the fact that she had actually gotten to me. 

“Fine.” I answered when I realized she was waiting for my acknowledgment. I made sure that it would appease her at that moment, but I wasn’t about to make a promise that I didn’t plan to keep. Lena seemed to sense this, but like I had hoped, she let it be enough for the moment. She sighed and stepped back from me, looked back towards Mrs. Bell and the door. I followed her gaze and realized that the classroom door had been opened and two more figures had joined us in the hallway, all three were staring at us.

Lena, now seeming completely composed, stepped up to them to introduce herself. I echoed her sigh and stepped up behind her. I avoided making eye contact with any of them, still dazed by Lena’s outburst.

“I’m Officer Lena Jordan, and this is Elizabeth Greene.”

“It’s Eliza.” I said reflexively, though I remembered a second later that it wasn’t the best time to go around correcting Lena. I could feel her glare on me for a second before someone else spoke.

“You’re her guardian, correct?” I glanced up at the woman who may have saved me from another lecture, or even being dragged out of the school in handcuffs. She was dressed down, compared to Mrs. Bell, anyway. Her outfit was actually similar to Lena’s. They both wore black suit pants and dress shoes. But whereas Lena wore a white button up and black suit jacket, the teacher wore a grey sweater, which made her seem friendlier and more approachable. Which, of course, didn’t matter to me. Lena had styled her brown hair straight this morning. ‘Ms. Lawson’, -the plaque on her door read,- had curled her hair. Otherwise, the two looked a lot alike. Which slightly irritated me. One Lena in my life was plenty.

“Yes, that’s correct. I was friends with her parents ever since she was a toddler and the closest thing to family that she has left.” She looked at me pointedly. I pretended I didn’t notice the hidden message for me in there.

Thanks for reminding me, I thought to myself. Knowing that Lena was the only family I had left didn’t change anything for me. It’s not like reminding me for the thousandth time was going to suddenly snap me out of the two-year long “rebel phase” that I had going. 

“She’s lucky she has you. I’m Ms. Lawson, and this is my assistant teacher, Alice LaRose. ” Ms. Lawson replied. And at that, I tuned out again. That way, I got to avoid listening to Lena tell them my whole life story and all the things I’ve done since the “terrible accident”, so that they can know how best to deal with me.  
At some point during their conversation, my eyes wandered up to Alice and I had to work hard to keep my expression from shifting dramatically when my green eyes met her blue ones. She appeared to have been staring at me, and she didn’t bother to look away shyly when I caught her in the act. She just continued to stare at me, and I felt like she was staring right into my soul. The feeling made me uncomfortable. After a long moment, I attempted to look away, but my eyes drifted downward as I looked her over and acknowledged her presence for the first time. Her light brown hair was partially pulled up into a ponytail, with a tiny braid and several loose strands framing her face. She had a nose piercing, as well as several on each ear. She had an assortment of jewelry around her neck, wrists, and fingers. Most contained some sort of crystal, stone, or symbol, though some were just plain brown or black leather. She wore a dark green button up shirt that was tucked into her grey jeggings, along with a pair of black boots.

From the second my eyes laid on her, I knew I was in trouble by the way my heart immediately started racing.

I found myself silently wishing I had tried a bit harder on my own outfit, though I supposed I didn’t look terrible. I had dressed myself in a band t-shirt and plaid, with a pair of ripped up black skinny jeans and combat boots. I had left my hair wavy, it fell loosely around my face. As per usual, I went heavy on the dark eye makeup, making the green in my eyes pop.

“Ms. Jordan, why don’t you accompany me to the office to finish up some of the paperwork?” I tuned in again when I noticed the conversation coming to a close.  
“Yes, that would be great.” She answered unenthusiastically.

“There is still fifteen minutes left until break so why don’t you go with Alice and she can show you around the school?” I glanced at Alice when Ms. Lawson spoke her name, silently dreading the idea of spending the next fifteen minutes alone with her. But I nodded compliantly, deciding not to piss Lena off anymore for the day.

Lena gave me one last look before following the secretary away. Ms. Lawson whispered a few words into Alice’s ear before disappearing back into the classroom.  
I sucked in a shaky breath and looked expectantly at Alice. She was staring at me again, but I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking. The moment didn’t last long, thankfully. Without a word, she turned around and started walking down the hall.

“What did Lena tell you about this school, Eliza?” Alice asked me, and for a second, I was too dumbfounded to answer. Her voice was like silk-soft and smooth.  
“Um… Nothing. Just that it was ‘special’.” I rolled my eyes at that part.

“I see. Well it is a bit different than the other schools I’m sure you’re used to. For starters, it is an all-girls school.” She paused at that, turning her head to glance at me pointedly, the smirk on her face fairly obvious. I blushed and looked away, wondering how she could possibly know about me. “But don’t worry, there’s no uniform or anything like that. The dress code is pretty similar to any other school.” 

“Over here is the entrance to the outdoor commons, which you can see through those windows.” My eyes widened when I peered through the windows to see what looked like a lush forest just outside of the school. There was a clearing with a few benches just outside of the door. “The school completely surrounds it, so students are allowed to come and go from it pretty freely, as long as it’s not during class hours. There are several clearings with places to sit, trails, a pond, and on the other side we have a garden and a greenhouse.”

I was slightly irked by the fact that the whole thing was surrounded. Of course, they wouldn’t want to make it easy for all the runaways like me. Still, judging by the vastness of the forest, I could see myself hiding in there for a few hours.

“You’ll only have one teacher for the first 6 ½ hours of every day, which is Ms. Lawson. The last hour and a half, you’re free to choose an elective or use the time to study. Your choices are gym, swimming, band, choir, workshop, art, or you can study in the library, indoor commons, outdoor commons, or lounge areas. Students are asked to avoid their dorms until school hours are over.”

I normally would have zoned out by this point. I didn’t hold any sort of interest for school or the activities that come with it. Not anymore. But I found it really hard to focus on anything other than her voice and what she was saying.

“There are 11 class rooms with approximately 30 students each. Each teacher is responsible for their students during and after school hours. Which means the dorms are all separated and grouped by teacher. Curfew is at 10 p.m., you’re expected to check in with your teacher and be in your dorm block by then. Curfew is at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Breakfast is provided in the lunch room at 7:30 every week day, and 9 on the weekends. Lunch and dinner are served at 12 and 6 every day. Snacks are available in between.” At this point I was becoming slightly overwhelmed and was having a hard time keeping up. I sincerely hoped she wouldn’t be offended if I forgot half of what she was telling me.

“Over here is the library. Feel free to use any of the books or computers.” We rounded a corner then, wrapping around the outdoor commons. “And here is the lunch room. There’s an exit over there, only for emergencies, and there’s another entrance to the outdoor commons just over there.” I tried to keep my eyes upward as I followed her through the lunch room, hoping she took my silence as compliance and not the awkwardness it really was. 

“The gym is just through those doors, there’s another exit here. To our right we have the staff kitchen.” We rounded another corner then, the outdoor commons finally fading from view now that the hallway had rooms on both sides. “The pool is to our left.”

I knew a lot of kids from my old schools that would kill to have an indoor pool at school. I wasn’t sure that I would use it all that often, but I smiled when I imagined how jealous they would be.

“The music room is just past the pool, then there’s a lounge area used mostly as a game room. And on the other side we have the work shop and art room.”  
Game room? They would definitely be jealous.

We walked for another minute before we came across anything else she thought was worth mentioning. I was surprised at the size of the school, considering there were only just over 300 students. I wondered how much it had cost Lena to enroll me here. I wished she hadn’t gone through all that trouble, knowing I wouldn’t appreciate it like she wanted me to.

“All the dorms are on this side of the school. As I said before, they’re organized by teacher. So there are 11 blocks, each block containing 6 student rooms, student showers, a teacher room and teacher showers. This is our dorm here.” She gestured to her left, but I was too preoccupied by the fact that she said “our dorm” to look where she was pointing. 

Just then, the bell rang and students started flooding out of the classrooms down the hall.  
“Here’s a pamphlet with a map of the school, as well as important times and information.” I almost sighed in relief at that, not feeling so bad about forgetting everything now. “And here is your student handbook with all the policies and procedures you’ll need to know. Do you have any questions?” I raised my eyebrows, as if I wouldn’t have any questions after all that. 

“Um…” Then I remembered that I really didn’t care about any of it. Alice was watching me steadily, waiting for a response. I looked away from her when I started to get fidgety. “No, I guess not.”

“Thank you guys so much for doing this.” I glanced up at the familiar voice just down the hall. Lena was just walking out of the front office with Mrs. Bell and another woman I didn’t recognize. Based on the way she was dressed and how she held herself I guessed she was the principal. “I didn’t know what else to do. She means the world to me but I just-”

“It’s no problem, Ms. Jordan. Really. We’re happy to help. She’ll be in good hands here.” The principal interrupted when she noticed Lena’s voice get shaky. Lena nodded, before absently glancing in our direction. She waved me over. I walked over slowly with my hands in my pockets, avoiding any further eye contact with her. I stood there, expecting another lecture, but I was surprised when she pulled me in and hugged me tightly, as if she was holding on for dear life. I froze. I could feel her shaking against me, as if she was crying. She pulled her head back to kiss my forehead. She whispered, “I love you,” before pulling away and wiping her eyes.  
I kept my eyes on the floor and my emotions at bay while she said one last “thank you” to the principal before turning and leaving. I finally looked up to watch her leave before the principal dragged my attention away.

“Hello, Ms. Greene. Welcome to the Greenwood School. My name is Mrs. Shaw, I’m the principal here. I trust that Ms. LaRose has provided you with all the information you need about the school for now?” I nodded. She seemed unfazed by my wordless response. “Alright. We’ve decided to give you the rest of the day off to get your bearings and unpack your things. Ms. LaRose can help you carry your bags to your dorm room. It was nice to meet you. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask.” I nodded again, and walked past them to grab my bags, which sat by the office door. I picked up my backpack and slung it over my shoulders. Alice went to grab my suitcase, but I grabbed it and pulled it away before she could. 

“I’ve got it, thanks.” I said quietly before walking off in the direction of the dorms. Nothing else was said as I walked away. I could sense Alice behind me, though her steps were completely silent. 

When we got to the dorms, I stood back and let her lead the way, knowing there was no way I’d find it on my own. She lead me through a doorway, which just led into another hallway lined with doors, much like an apartment building or a hotel. 

“The living room is at the end of the hall. There are 3 computers available should you need them for homework. Student bathrooms and showers are the last door on the left. Mine and Ms. Lawson’s room is right by the main door. And this is your room. Second door on the left.” She opened the door and stepped back, making room for me to enter. My eyes scanned the room as I walked in. There were two sets of bunk beds in the back corners of the room, and one single bed in the front corner. Three dressers were spread out between the beds. I noticed that the bunk beds were all occupied. They all had a unique bed spread or someone’s belongings laying on them. So that left the lone bed in the front corner. I rolled my suitcase over next to it and tossed my backpack onto the mattress. I took a few steps over to the nearest dresser and started opening drawers until I found a couple empty ones. There were two empty drawers at the bottom.  
I didn’t need much space. Ever since my parents died, material belongings had become less and less important to me. And now I could fit everything I own into the two bags I brought in with me.

I hoisted the suitcase up onto the mattress and unzipped it, taking the folded clothes out and placing them in organized piles on the mattress. The entire time I was hyperaware of the watchful gaze coming from the doorway. I figured she was waiting for me to have a break down or make a run for it or something along those lines. I glanced up at her while straightening a pile. Her expression was calm but curious.

“Your foster mom cares for you. A lot.” Her voice was soft and quiet, but the randomness of her words startled me. I frowned.  
“She’s not my foster mom.” She was, technically. But I still hated when people called her that. It didn’t sound right. And it made the reality even worse. “She’s just an old babysitter.” I bent to place a folded pile of jeans into the bottom drawer. “But, yes. I know she does.”  
“You’ve known her your whole life?” I sighed. I didn’t want to talk about Lena. Lena brings out emotions I prefer to keep buried, just like my parents.  
“Yes.” I said simply, hoping she would get the hint and drop the subject. She was silent for a minute, leaning against the doorway. I put a few more piles of clothes away before I couldn’t stand it anymore. Not only did her presence set me on edge because she was highly attractive, but also because I needed a few minutes to myself, and I knew I wouldn’t get any as soon as the other students got back. “If you’re waiting for me to try to take off, you can relax. I’m not going anywhere right now.”

I made sure to include the “right now”, because I had never really liked lying, and I couldn’t promise that I wouldn’t try to leave eventually. Instead of getting irritated like I thought she would, she simply smirked and straightened her body.

“I’ll be right down the hall, if you need me.” And then she walked off toward the living room. I closed the door behind her and took my phone out of my pocket. I started playing a song from my punk rock playlist to drown out the silence.

I got all my stuff put away in just a few minutes, aside from my bathroom stuff, which I just kept in my suitcase for now. With nothing else to busy myself with, I climbed onto the bed and leaned against the wall, glancing at my phone to make sure Lena hadn’t tried to text me. She hadn’t. She must be using the “yank the band-aid” method. I sighed and let my head fall back against the wall, wishing I didn’t feel so bad about the whole situation.  
Lena didn’t deserve any of this. I knew that. Lena was a good person, she always had been. And everything she’d done since my parents died was for my own good. Or, what she thought was best for me. She’d done everything right. It just wasn’t ever going to be enough. Lena couldn’t bring my parents back.  
The tears started to fall then, as I knew they would eventually. There were only a few, silent and discreet. Just enough so that I could go back to being in control. Then I took a deep breath, wiped the tears away, and stood up to go face my new, temporary reality. Lena’s next disappointment could wait a few days.


	2. Hogwarts and Greenwood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a lot more dialogue and a few more characters are introduced. Let me know what you think of the characters and what you'd like to see in any other new characters I introduce.
> 
> I love animals so, of course, I HAD to add a cat.
> 
> Harry Potter references.

I took one step out the door and jumped when my leg hit something, or rather, when something hit my leg. I looked down and was shocked to see a black and white cat rubbing on me.

What the hell? Did a stray somehow get into the school?

“Oh, yeah. That’s Gerald. He belongs to one of the girls in this dorm. He’s very friendly.” I looked up at the voice that I was quickly becoming used to. She was sitting on the couch in the living room, twisted around to face me with one arm slung over the back of the couch. Gerald followed me as I walked toward the living room.

“Since when are students allowed to bring their pets to a boarding school?” I asked as I reached the back of the couch. I stood a few feet away from her, on the opposite side of the couch, petting Gerald when he jumped up in front of me.

“Chloe has PTSD. She has episodes every once in a while, and Gerald is the only thing that calms her down. No one in this dorm is allergic to cats or has a problem with him being here so we allow it.” 

“What sets her off?” I asked as I surveyed the room. There was a TV mounted on the wall across from us, with a shelf full of DVD’s, three computers lined the wall to my right, while a variety of couches, chairs, and beanbags littered every available space.

“No one really knows. It always seems random because we can’t find a connection and she won’t tell us anything.” I thought back to the episodes I used to endure, when I first accepted that my parents were really gone. I didn’t really like to talk about it afterwards either. 

With nothing else to say, my eyes wandered back up to the TV, noticing the volume was turned almost all the way down. 

“You can change it if you want. There are movies over there. We have just over an hour before everyone gets out of class.” I sighed, deciding I had nothing better to do with my time. I walked over to the movie shelf and skimmed through a few before I decided you could never go wrong with Harry Potter. Instead of grabbing the first one like most people would, I picked out one of my favorites, the Half-Blood Prince, and popped that into the DVD player. When I turned around, Alice held the remote out to me. I took it and then chose a seat off in the corner, as far away from her as I could get. 

“This is one of my favorites, too. I never get to watch it though. They always want to watch them in order but by the time they get to this one they get distracted.” Alice said with a smile on her face. 

“Happy to help.” My voice was dry, emotionless. I realized, though, the words were true. 

“Snape is one of my favorite characters. Aside from Hermione Granger, of course.” I looked over at her suspiciously. “What? You don’t like Hermione?”  
“No, I do. It’s just-“ I paused. “You don’t seem like the type.” She raised her eyebrows and smirked before turning to look at the screen without another word. I stared at her, confused by her reaction, but mostly just distracted by how she looks when she smirks. 

“So, what are you doing here?” I blurted out mostly to distract myself, but then I realized how vague it sounded when she looked over at me with a frown. “I mean… You work here, right?” She nodded. “Why here?”

“I graduated from here. My parents are in the military so they travel a lot.” A military kid? Really? “Ms. Lawson is my cousin. She knows I’ve always loved teaching so she offered me a job as her assistant. It’s really more of an externship while I finish up college but I get paid for it.” She finished with a shrug.  
“You know, most kids graduate and swear to never go back.” She laughed. The sound made my heart skip a beat.

“Yeah, I suppose they do. I like it here, though.” I narrowed my eyes, wondering what exactly was wrong with her. She laughed again. “I know. I’m weird.”  
“What about you? How’d you end up here?” I scoffed.

“As if you don’t already know. I’m sure Lena told everyone here my whole life story. Repeatedly.” I rolled my eyes. Lena wasn’t one for subtlety. Or privacy.  
“Yeah, I heard her story. I was just wondering if yours was any different.” I was shocked. No one ever asked me for my side of things. Though I supposed I was grateful for that. I didn’t like to talk about my past. There was no point.

“I’m sure she covered everything.” I said as I stared at the TV screen. Alice must have noticed my expression grow dark and agitated because she knew enough to drop the subject. We sat in silence for a while after that. I finally managed to get Lena and my parents out of my mind, but I still couldn’t focus on the movie. Again, I was hyperaware of Alice sitting just across the room. I refused to look in her direction for a long time, trying my best to forget about her and frustrated with myself about not being able to. 

She’s basically your teacher now. Get it together, you sicko. 

I risked a glance in her direction, noticing how young she looked.

What is she, like 21? Aren’t teachers supposed to be old grandma’s?

I forced my eyes back to the screen, telling myself it didn’t matter how old she was. She was still a teacher. Which meant she was completely off limits. Besides, being a closeted lesbian didn’t exactly set me up for any kind of relationship, no matter who it was with.

I’d come to terms with how gay I was a long time ago. I wasn’t ashamed of it. But I’d never gotten the chance to tell my parents before they died. I had planned to. The night they died, actually. Lena was supposed to be there, too, but she got caught up at work. Since then, I ‘d never told anyone except a few strangers who I knew I’d never see again. It just never felt right.

So, I lived in secret, dealing with it on my own. And now I was stuck in a boarding school with hundreds of girls and not a boy in sight. It should have been a lesbian’s dream come true, but I had no idea how these girls would react to having a lesbian sleeping in the same room with them and showering in the next stall over. Of course, I’d never do anything unless invited to do so, but they didn’t know that. So, I decided right then and there to keep my mouth shut and keep any feelings at bay. At least until I could get out of there.

I flinched when the bell rang. The living room seemed way too homey to be expecting a school bell.

I sighed, knowing that at any minute the dorm would be overflowing with people. I stood up, deciding to go hide out as best as I could on my bed.  
“You’re not going to wait to meet everyone?” Her voice finally broke the silence, but I didn’t turn to look at her. 

“I’m not much of a people-person.” I said as I disappeared into my room. I pulled my headphones out of my backpack and restarted my punk rock playlist just as the front door to the dorm block opened and I heard several loud voices enter. I sat in the corner of my bed and took a deep breath to prepare myself and secured my left earbud. I didn’t want to be a total asshat, so I left the right one out, just in case someone was brave enough to talk to me.

Seconds later, a blond girl waltzes into the room, not at all perturbed by my presence. She was in the middle of a conversation with the next person who walked in, and they must have been twins. They looked almost exactly alike, though the second one wasn’t nearly as chipper as the first one. Unlike the first girl, the second one walked in the room and looked right at me with a cold expression. I could tell just from that look that she wasn’t happy about my presence and we were going to have a problem. I stared back with a controlled look, not giving any sort of emotion away, but not backing down.

“Hi! I’m Kelsey Brown!” My eyes snapped over to the chipper one, who I hadn’t even noticed was waiting for the other girl to answer her. She must have realized she was too preoccupied. “And this is my sister, Madison.” I looked over them again, trying to figure out what I was up against, though Kelsey didn’t seem to want any sort of quarrel. 

Madison was dressed in all black activewear and her hair was in a messy ponytail, like she had just gotten back from a 5 mile run. She was obviously fit, her outfit showed off every muscle. Despite the fact that she was so obviously stronger than me and was shooting daggers at me from across the room, I wasn’t intimidated by her. I turned my attention to her sister and noticed a huge difference. Despite looking almost exactly alike in the face, I knew it would never be hard for me to tell them apart. Kelsey had her hair down and curled in loose ringlets. She wore a black crew neck t-shirt with a navy blue, poofy skirt. Her body was much leaner, but still fit. Instead of looking like someone who lifts or runs every day, she looked like she chose to spend her time dancing, or maybe doing gymnastics.   
“Hey.” I said simply. I hadn’t bothered working on my social skills in the last two years, but it didn’t bother me if I didn’t make any friends. There was an awkward silence for a moment, until Madison scoffed and grabbed a sports bag from under her bed.

“I gotta go.” She said as she stormed out of the room. I watched her retreat, wondering what the hell her problem was. Sure, I’d had problems with people in my old schools (some of the many reasons I’d been kicked out), but I’d never encountered anyone willing to hate me so strongly with so little to go on.  
“I’m sorry about that. My sister can be very judgmental when it comes to new people.” Kelsey apologized, seeming embarrassed by her sister’s behavior. I shrugged.

“No big deal. I can handle it.” Another awkward pause. 

“How are things going in here?” I looked up toward the door to see Ms. Lawson peeking her head in. Thankfully, I didn’t have to answer because Kelsey beat me to it. 

“Well, my sister’s a bitch, but other than that, fine.” 

“Language.” She said nonchalantly, as if she didn’t really care but was obligated to say something. “What did she do?”

“Basically, gave the newbie the cold shoulder. Except she glared at her the whole time.”

“Ah, the typical Maddy stuff.” She turned her attention to me. “Don’t worry about it, it’s just how she is.” 

I shook my head lightly. “I wasn’t worried.” She smiled at me for a moment before speaking again. 

“Where did you go to school last, Eliza?”

“Brickwall High. For 2 months. Charleston High for 3 months before that and Pebble Creek before that.” I named them all off, waiting for her to realize what she had signed herself up for. “I was kicked out of all three.”

“Kicked out?! What did you do?” Kelsey blurted out, apparently not understanding that you weren’t supposed to ask about the details. 

“Attitude, fighting, drugs… Weapons.” I mumbled that last one, but I still heard Kelsey gasp in surprise. I glanced up at Ms. Lawson, whose expression hadn’t changed much. “You can check my bags if you want. I didn’t bring anything.”

It’s not like I had brought the knife to school to hurt anyone. Not intentionally, anyway. It was for self-defense. Brickwall High was a sketchy school, a few of the kids were involved in gangs. I was threatened, and I stood up for myself. Given that I was the only one with a weapon on me at the time, I was kicked out.

“Your guardian said she already checked your bags before she put them in the car.” Of course she did. “I trust that you didn’t manage to sneak anything in after that?” I shook my head. “Then we’re good. I’ve got a few things to do before dinner, but let me know if you need anything.” And she walked away.

“Dude… Weapons?” A small laugh escaped my lips when I saw Kelsey’s dumbfounded expression.

“It’s not what you think.”

“I don’t care. There’s no way that story isn’t good. Tell me about it.” I hesitated as she plopped down on her bed and waited enthusiastically for an answer. I laughed again. What the hell. Give the girl her story time.


	3. At Least It's Not Electroshock

I found out rather quickly that Kelsey wouldn’t hesitate to talk your ear off if given half the chance. However, I was surprised to find out that she could actually be a good listener, too. That is, whenever I decided to say anything. 

Thankfully, she wasn’t one of those way too helpful girls who felt the need to introduce the new girl to everyone in sight, so dinner was rather uneventful. I sat next to Kelsey, mostly because she did enough talking for the both of us, so I wasn’t expected to say much. Her sister was already sitting at a different table by the time we got the lunch room, so I figured it was safe enough to sit by Kelsey, though I did catch her a few times glaring at me from across the cafeteria. I pretended not to notice.

I met Chloe, the girl with PTSD, who also stays in my room. Her full name was Chloe Grant, and she was a mystery to me. At first she seemed a bit shy to me, but then someone would bring up a certain subject and her face would light up and she would jump into the conversation with the enthusiasm of a puppy who just found a new squeaky toy. Moments later, she would shrink back into herself and glance around the room nervously, as if waiting for something bad to happen.   
She had dark, shoulder length hair that she often used to hide her face. She wore a baggy, army green sweater. She pulled the sleeves down to cover her hands every few seconds. Her skinny jeans and converse seemed normal enough, but nothing about this girl seemed normal. And yet, I found her kind of endearing.   
I met the other girl who shares my room, too. Her name was Mia Cass, a brunette who seemed nice enough but didn’t show much interest in me. Which I was fine with. Chloe seemed to like her, following her around and giggling whenever she spoke. Mia treated her like a child, but not in a condescending way. 

I did my best to keep my attention on the conversation at the table, or the food in front of me (which wasn’t that bad, considering it was school food), and not on Alice, who sat only two tables down from us with Ms. Lawson and a few other teachers. It was harder than you’d think. I kept having to remind myself that I couldn’t let anyone notice this… crush, or whatever it was. So, I stared down at my food a lot, until everyone started getting up and throwing their stuff away. I followed without hesitation, grateful for the excuse to leave and go back to hiding in my little corner.

When we got back to the dorm, a few students were already there, arguing about what to watch on tv. I avoided that argument, heading straight to my room, grabbing pajamas, and then heading down the hall to find the showers. The showers took a little getting used to. They were private enough, but the sound of other people talking and laughing only a few feet away made me slightly uncomfortable. Then I remembered I wasn’t at Brickwall. I didn’t think any of these girls would rip open the curtain and try to beat the shit out of me while I was vulnerable. The most I had to fear was the rather pedestrian “steal the towel” prank. But that didn’t happen, either, so I was safe. 

By the time I left the showers, the dorm was filled with chatter. I snuck off to my room almost completely unnoticed. Only a few curious eyes spotted me, but no one said anything. Chloe and Mia were already there, sitting on the bottom bunk in the right corner. Mia had a guitar in her lap and was playing very quietly, mostly just messing around with the chords, but Chloe looked completely invested in it. They looked up when I walked in, and I just nodded in their direction before sitting in the corner of my bed and putting my headphones in. I leaned back against the wall and let my eyes close as a Green Day song started playing.

I had just dozed off when I was startled awake by a poke on my shoulder. I took one earbud out and looked over at Chloe, who was kneeling beside my bed, her head resting on her fists next to me. She stared up at me with an innocently curious expression. 

“What are you listening to?” 

“Green Day.” I answered after a short pause. Chloe hadn’t shown much interest in me at dinner-probably because Mia didn’t-, so her sudden curiosity threw me.   
“Hm… Green Day.” She thought about it for a minute. “Can I listen?”

“Uh, sure.” I answered. Her face lit up and before I knew it she had jumped up next to me on the bed. She took the earbud I handed her and listened very intently for a minute. I glanced over at Mia, unsure of the whole situation. Mia had stopped playing her guitar and was now watching us with a small smile. She shrugged when she saw me looking. 

“She likes music.” She said simply. I looked back at Chloe, who had apparently decided she liked it, because she started nodding her head to the beat of the music. Laughter started to bubble up from the pit of my stomach at the sight until I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Mia laughed, too. 

Madison walked in then, but she didn’t so much as look in my direction. I frowned slightly. A second later, Alice peeked in from the doorway. She and Ms. Lawson probably had a chat with her about playing nice. Remembering how many of those talks I’d been subject to, I almost felt bad for her. Almost. 

Alice took a second to watch Chloe’s antics before turning to me and handing over a stack of books and papers.

“Ms. Lawson wanted me to give these to you. Those are all the books you’ll need for now, as well as a few review sheets that should help you catch up.” I saw Chloe imitate a drum player just as we reached the climax of the song and Alice couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “What in the world do you have her listening to?”

“Punk rock. She asked to hear it, I only obliged.” I put my hands in the air to make myself look as innocent as possible. “It’s nothing particularly slanderous, I swear.”

“She’s corrupting her with garbage.” Mia joked. I scoffed.

“And what would you have her listening to? Show tunes?” I mocked. She laughed, not at all offended. 

“Aw, come on. I love Mia’s music.” Kelsey said as she walked in mid-conversation. 

“Thank you, Kelsey.” She flipped her hand upside down as she looked at me pointedly, as if she were Vanna White displaying something important. 

“Especially when she decides to play something fun instead of her usual slow stuff.” Kelsey added and Mia’s expression turned dark as she turned her head to glare jokingly at her. Kelsey smiled brightly at her, looking almost as innocent as Chloe when she did it.

“Don’t worry Mia, I’ve got your back. I think your music is always beautiful, slow or not.” Alice spoke up as she sat on the corner of my bed. I tried not to concentrate on that fact.

“Yeah, but you’re obligated to say that. You’re basically her band mate.” Kelsey grumbled. Band mates? I glanced between the two of them.

“We’re not band mates, Kelsey. We just play together from time to time. There’s a difference.” Mia answered. Kelsey rolled her eyes, not quite ready to admit defeat.

“Play something!” Chloe exclaimed. I jumped, which made her laugh. She took her earbud out and handed it back to me very carefully, like she was scared it would break.

“I don’t know, Chloe. It’s almost time for bed.” Mia answered, but Chloe turned to Alice for conformation. 

Alice smiled at her and said, “of course, love” and I would have been jealous of Chloe if I wasn’t too busy staring at Alice and admiring how perfect she was. Her gaze flickered to me for a second and I didn’t even have the state of mind to look away or control my expression at all. Her smile deepened before she looked away to say something to Mia.

Before I knew it, Mia had started playing, and seconds later my breath was taken away when Alice opened her mouth and started singing. The lyrics meant nothing to me. I had no idea what she was singing, but just the sound of her voice had me completely dazed. I wondered how I had gone my whole life without hearing this. Even after the song was over, I couldn’t stop staring, and I could still hear the echo of her voice in my head. Thankfully, Chloe seemed to never let an opportunity to surprise me slip by.

“Alice has a very pretty voice.” She said right next to me ear, yanking me out of my daydreaming. Or whatever that was. 

“Yeah. She does.” I blushed and looked down at my phone, doing my best to look disinterested. I wasn’t sure how well it worked.

“Alright, time for bed.” Alice broke the silence. Chloe pouted, but she obediently stood up and went straight to bed. Kelsey and Madison were just changing into their pajamas, and even though I wasn’t particularly interested in them, I made sure to keep my eyes downcast, just in case. It was always odd to me how straight girls were anything but shy with each other. As a lesbian, I had learned a long time ago to keep my eyes to myself in the locker room to avoid being subject to some sort of homophobic rant. Or, the opposite. When I was a student at Pebble Creek, I had been caught staring at another girl in the locker room and for the next month I couldn’t escape all the straight girls wanting to experiment or impress their boyfriends. That got annoying fast.

Mia got up from the bottom bunk and started climbing to the top, making room for Chloe to burrow under the covers. Gerald seemed to know it was bed time, because he came running into the room and went straight to Chloe, curling up in her arms and purring. Her eyes were already starting to droop. 

Madison climbed up to the top bunk on the other side of the room while Kelsey took the bottom, though neither of them looked like they would be going to sleep right away.

“Good night.” Alice said to no one in particular as she flipped the light off and left, closing the door behind her. I sat up for a while after that, talking with the only friend I’d bothered to keep in contact with. 

“Hey dickhead. You’ll never guess where Lena stowed me away.” I texted him. Within seconds his response appeared. That boy was always by his phone. 

“Where?!”

“A boarding school. Full of girls.” I could tell he was definitely having a great time with that information when the laughing emoji appeared a second later.

“At least she’s supportive!” Another laughing emoji. I rolled my eyes.

“You’re not helping. There are girls… everywhere.”

“At least she didn’t send you to a Christian school to get electroshock treatments.”

“Lawr! You know she’s clueless!” 

“Okay, but in all seriousness, this should be a dream come true to you, right? I mean, if someone dumped me at a boarding school full of cute little virgin boys I’d be making my way through their ranks so fast.” I laughed quietly at that, knowing he wasn’t lying. Lawrence had always been a bit of a man-whore.

“I’m sure you would. You know I’m not like that, though.” I could imagine the sigh that would inevitably come out of his mouth after reading that.

“Oh, yes. I know all about your prudish tendencies. That doesn’t change the fact that you should take the time to enjoy the show.” He sent with a winking emoji. 

“I need to get out of here.” Before Lena gets her hopes up. Or I embarrass myself too much in front of Alice. 

As if reading my mind, Lawrence texted, “Who is it? I need details.” I glanced around the room. It looked like the only person still up was Kelsey, but she was just as absorbed in her phone as I was.

“No one. It’s not happening.” I could imagine the hard time he would give me if I told him who it really was. Unfortunately, Lawrence’s mind reading qualities prevailed. 

“YOU TOTALLY HAVE A CRUSH ON YOUR TEACHER!!!” I cringed when I saw that text. It made me feel so childish and inadequate. I felt the need to defend myself.

“She’s the ASSISTANT teacher, and she can’t be any older than 23. If that. And like I said, it’s not happening.”

“Oh, it’s totally happening.”

“No.”

“Come on, Eliza. You’re planning on leaving anyway so she won’t be your teacher forever. And it’s not like you have a goody two shoes reputation to uphold. I say, bang the teacher and leave.”

“Assistant teacher.” I answered, thinking that somehow makes it better. “And no, I can’t do that.”

“Oh! So you don’t just think she’s hot, you actually LIKE her?!” I sighed, suddenly wishing I hadn’t texted him. “I need details.” I stared at the text for a moment, deciding whether to answer him or just turn my phone off. “Please, Liza, you’re killing me.” 

“Fine. Relax.” I sent while I thought about what to tell him. 

“!!!”

“She’s… eccentric. She’s a brunette with these really deep blue eyes. She wears a lot of jewelry that you’d find at those stores that sell incense and crystals and all that. She looks really good in green and… SHE SINGS! Like, she has this amazing voice. Even when she’s just talking.”

“Okay you need a jail break.” He said simply. A clear sign I’d become way too invested.

“Oh, shut up Lawr. You’re the one who pushed for details. Are you still down for our road trip?” I was referring to our plans to leave town soon. Lawrence had friends in another state that he said would help us out whenever I was ready to leave. I definitely needed the change of scenery. A whole new life would be great, but we can’t have everything.

“Yesss! Whenever you say the word. Just text me when you’re ready to meet.” We had already figured out all the details a few weeks ago in person, avoiding putting too much detail in our texts, just in case someone got a hold of one of our phones. I wasn’t the only one running from a traumatic past, and Lawrence was just as invested in this as I was.

“Great. Just give me a few days.”

“If you don’t get some action, I’m refusing to leave with you.” I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore him, reaching over to plug my phone in. I would definitely NOT be taking his advice, even if I didn’t plan on staying and dealing with the consequences. Something about taking advantage of her like that just didn’t sit right with me. 

No, I’d spend the next few days pretending to settle in, let the teachers and Lena relax a little bit, and then I’d leave. Part of me didn’t want to leave like that. It would break Lena’s heart, but I knew it was the only way. Lena needed to be free of me, and I needed to be free of my past. We both needed to move on, and we couldn’t do that around each other. 

I took a deep breath to ease my anxiety before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.


End file.
